High school yard sale this weekend

Brandywine economics students raising funds for trip to Ecuador.

Brandywine economics students raising funds for trip to Ecuador.

June 15, 2006|Tribune Staff Report

NILES -- Brandywine High School's parking lot will be transformed into a community-wide yard sale Friday and Saturday, complete with bargains, antique appraisals and the chance to win a Dodge Caliber. For 20 juniors and seniors, their tickets to Ecuador next year rest partly on the furniture, in-line skates and other community donations that have made their way from Niles, Buchanan, Cassopolis, Vandalia and Dowagiac. The sale will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days. The earnings, along with grants and other fundraisers planned for the summer and fall, will go toward the students' economics class trip in November to the South American country. Students are working to raise $1,900 apiece, said economics teacher Ron Bishop. Antiques appraisers will be on hand, with a first appraisal costing $10 and additional ones costing $5 apiece. Students will sell $20 raffle tickets for a two-year lease on a red sports model 2007 Dodge Caliber. The drawing will take place Oct. 1 during the Applefest at the fairgrounds. Bishop said the school is also selling space to residents who want to sell their own items at the yard sale, for $20 a day or $25 for two days. The 12-day trip will allow students to learn the effects of tourism on the Galapagos Islands for two days and also tour plants in Quito. The students will learn about wages, inflation and government relations at Coca-Cola, Nestle and General Motors, Bishop said. "They come back with a whole different observation of the benefits of living in the United States," Bishop said. Upcoming fundraisers include a Battle of the Bands at the high school football field July 22 and a concession stand at University of Notre Dame football games.